Tomato Tart (English)

This is the perfect tomato tart recipe when you have lots of fresh, fragrant tomatoes in the garden. The tomato tart recipe is one of my most requested dishes from family and friends. The tomato tart is made using tomato sauce cooked together with eggs and Parmesan cheese. It makes a delicious and versatile tart. Served warm with a salad it is a perfect supper dish or a light lunch. Cold it goes really well in a lunch box, or a party or picnic food. I like to decorate the tart with salty, canned anchovies and a few black olives, but that's optional.

Pastry:
8 oz all-purpose flour, unbleached (225 g)
pinch sea salt
4 oz cold butter, diced (110 g)

Tomato Sauce:
1 rib medium celery
1 medium carrot, peeled
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 lb 10 oz fresh tomatoes, skin-on, roughly chopped into large pieces (750 g)
1 cup large handful flat-leaf parsley
1 cup large handful basil leaves
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Filling:
3 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (50 g)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Garnish (optional):
8 canned anchovies
black olives

For the Tomato Sauce:
Before making the tart you will need to make a tomato sauce. This tomato sauce recipe makes 1½ lbs (700 g) of finished sauce.

Chop the celery, carrot, onion and garlic into tiny pieces 1/8" (3 mm), roughly all the same size.

Place the tomato pieces or tinned tomatoes into a large casserole.

Place the carrot, then the celery, the onion, garlic and finally the parsley and basil on the top followed by the olive oil and cook for 1½ hours, on a medium heat with minimum stirring or by shaking the pan to prevent it from sticking, and even worse, burning.

To check the sauce is cooked, test a piece of the carrot and see if it is tender. If not cook a little longer. If the sauce is becoming dry, it is alright to add a little water and a dash of olive oil.

Put the contents through a food mill, (or if you don't have one use a food processor but do not over blend, the sauce should be thick and quite chunky, and you should be able to see tiny bits of the vegetables within the thick sauce).

Add the butter and reduce further until the sauce has thickened slightly usually about 10 minutes. Leave to cool.

Freeze the concentrated sauce in small batches.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5). Butter a 10" (25 cm) loose-bottomed tart tin.

For the Pastry:
Place the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and 2 Tbsp. of cold water. Pulse mix until all the ingredients are incorporated into a dough, add more water a tsp. at a time if the mixture doesn’t stick together and pulse again. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Unwrap the pastry, roll and line the tart dish making sure it is even on the bottom and sides and there are no holes. Prick the base of the dish using a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cover the pastry with baking parchment and fill with baking beans, or use long grain rice.

Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, remove the parchment and beans or rice and bake for a further 10 minutes until the crust is golden. Leave until completely cold.

For the Filling:
In a large baking bowl, add the eggs, butter and Parmesan to the tomato sauce and mix very well with a wooden spoon, season with a small pinch sea salt and a few twists of black pepper. Place the filling into the pastry case. Decorate with the anchovies and olives if using - the tart is equally delicious without them.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh basil leaves and a side salad.

Makes 6 servings.